Not otherwise newsworthy. . . except that it makes the US the only country in the world that will not have ratified it (full list of accessions here). It’s a glaring manifestation of American exceptionalism, and not in a good way.

With the Disabilities Convention making another go of it in the Senate, perhaps the US could turn the corner on its problem with human rights treaties (Bob Corker is wobbling, would be a key switch to yes). Holding out in complete isolation will increasingly be of symbolic value only, catering to a shrinking minority of Boltonite international law nay-sayers, as universal treaty norms move into the realm of customary law and creep in through other channels.

March 1, 2015Guest Post: The Mirage of Hybrid Justice in Africa?[Patryk I. Labuda is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Before joining the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, he worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo, ...

February 17, 2015The Absence of Practice Supporting the "Unwilling or Unable" Test
Regular readers of the blog know that one of my hobbyhorses is the "unwilling or unable" test for self-defense against non-state actors. As I have often pointed out, scholars seem much more enamored with the test than states. The newest (regrettable...